Richard Valenta's Posts - Automotive Digital Marketing ProCom2015-03-03T20:23:46ZRichard Valentahttp://www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com/profile/RichardValenta566http://api.ning.com/files/2ufHg7iu09BwD4giFpFkSkz2pjmvxa2vape0MdFCViPpZ2kev9mrICGsA2N02O8jnaeW-OgaJ460dNR2Fc3VXOZf2KENOr1B/valenta.JPG?width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1http://www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=3d9vtyntml53j&xn_auth=noYour Reputation Goes Well Beyond Reviewstag:www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com,2013-05-11:1970539:BlogPost:4758902013-05-11T03:54:53.000ZRichard Valentahttp://www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com/profile/RichardValenta566
<p><a href="http://www.kpaonline.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Review.jpg"><img alt="Review" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4093" src="http://www.kpaonline.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Review.jpg" width="750"></img></a></p>
<p>There has been a promising trend in the automotive industry over the last couple of years. Dealers are starting to pay a good amount of attention to their online reputation, something that simply wasn’t a priority not too long ago. Today, it’s at the top of mind for most dealers. The only challenge is that many are taking action towards improving their reviews on sites like Yelp, Google, and…</p>
<p><a href="http://www.kpaonline.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Review.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4093" alt="Review" src="http://www.kpaonline.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Review.jpg" width="750"/></a></p>
<p>There has been a promising trend in the automotive industry over the last couple of years. Dealers are starting to pay a good amount of attention to their online reputation, something that simply wasn’t a priority not too long ago. Today, it’s at the top of mind for most dealers. The only challenge is that many are taking action towards improving their reviews on sites like Yelp, Google, and Dealer Rater, but are not focusing at all on the other components of their reputation.</p>
<p><span id="more-4091"></span>These components are arguably much more important than what Yelp says about your dealership.</p>
<p>This is not to say that reviews are not important. We’re working on what we consider to be the most cutting-edge online review management system in the industry. However, it is only a slice of the reputation pie. The other parts can not only help protect your dealership from the negatives out there. They can actually help to proactively drive more business. Here’s how.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>“Skin in the Game” Social media</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.kpaonline.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Facebook-Reviews.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4094" alt="Facebook Reviews" src="http://www.kpaonline.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Facebook-Reviews.jpg" width="750"/></a></p>
<p>Facebook has started being more aggressive with their push to get people to use their location review feature. Google Local has been integrated with Google+ for a while and is arguably the most prominent review site in the automotive industry simply because of their biased placement on searches. Twitter is turning around again to be more involved with review sites. All of this is important, but it’s not the most important part of social media from a reputation management perspective.</p>
<p>Unlike standard review sites, there’s skin in the game for those who post about you on their social profiles. When they go to leave a review on Yelp, Dealer Rater, or any of the other sites, there is very little chance that anyone who knows them or trusts their opinion will actually see the review. They are willing to leave these reviews as a semi-public dialogue between them and the dealership. I used the term “semi-public” because while most review sites identify the name of the person leaving the review, their identity is not of any real importance. People who look to review sites are trying to get a general sentiment. They may be looking for dirt, of course, but it’s a check box in the overall buying experience.</p>
<p>More and more press is coming out about fake reviews on these sites as well. Those of us who understand the industry or have been delving into reputation management for some time are well aware that many of the reviews are encouraged. Some are downright fake. Ours isn’t the only industry that knows this which is why fewer people are as trusting of review sites as they once were.</p>
<p>When people post about you on social media, they’re involved. They are now part of the conversation in a way that their friends can and will see. If they say something good about your dealership on Facebook, more local people that know and trust them will see the positive sentiment. It will register to them now and influence them whether they’re in the market today or thinking back six months in the future. The opposite is true as well. A negative review on Dealer Rater will hurt your overall score and a scathing writeup will be written by some who are very curious about the way you do business, but in reality the damage is not that great. If they post a hateful message about you on Facebook, however, you’re now exposed. If the user is active on Facebook, then the negative sentiment will definitely register.</p>
<p>There’s two primary takeaways to this point. First, we’re very proactive as an industry when it comes to getting reviews on review sites, but we’re not taking advantage of the conversation and trust-factor potential of social media as a reputation component. Second, people will vent on their social media profiles when they have no other course of action. Some will do it anyway regardless of what a dealership does, but some can be prevented by giving a direct line of communication to the customer. The scariest part about negative social media posts is that you’re probably completely unaware that they happen. They do. That much is certain. unfortunately, they’re not all consolidated to a single venue like they are with the review sites. Bad word of mouth is amplified when it’s posted to Facebook.</p>
<p>One of the most misunderstood aspects of social media as it pertains to reputation is that it has anything to do with your dealership’s pages and profiles. It doesn’t, at least not from this perspective (though I’ll cover the other perspective shortly). They don’t have to post negative feedback to your page for it to be out there. The sooner that a dealership understands the dynamic between social media and reputation, the closer they’ll be to being able to use social media to drive traffic and referrals to their dealership.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>How You Appear on Searches for Your Name</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.kpaonline.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Dealership-Reputation.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4095" alt="Dealership Reputation" src="http://www.kpaonline.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Dealership-Reputation.jpg" width="750"/></a></p>
<p>Contrary to popular belief, people don’t normally find your reviews by going to DealerRater.com or Yelp.com directly. They get there through search, in particular searches for your dealership by name. It’s important to understand that controlling as much of the Google search results pages as possible when people search for you is of the utmost importance. By properly controlling what people are able to find when they search for you, you’ll have a much better chance of keeping them interested before they even fill out a lead form or come into the dealership.</p>
<p>In the example above, a person searching for “Lebanon Ford” will find the dealership-controlled websites, of course, but they’ll also find the dealership’s social media presence. In this case, it’s Facebook and Twitter. Avid users of these and other social media sites will want to see what you’re portraying on your social media pages. They can get a better understanding of the humanity behind this presence by visiting these pages. What will they find when they visit yours?</p>
<p>Will they find the type of activity that they want to find? Will they see relevant posts that pertain to the automotive industry, the local community, and the dealership itself, or will they see memes and funny cat pictures. Despite a dangerous belief held by many that posting irrelevant images is the way to go with your social media presence, the reality is that these types of posts, though “likeable” by some, are a turnoff to many. Average people don’t want any businesses posting irrelevant content. It’s insincere. It makes a dealership look like they’re trying too hard to fit into to the community as an individual by being frivolous. That’s not the way to handle social media in 2013.</p>
<p>Today, people that are willing to interact with companies through social media (and that number is growing every day) want to know that a business is on-target. They want to know that you’re not spamming, that you’re engaging, and that you’re staying true to your business and community. They don’t want memes. They don’t want cats. They want to know that you are willing to be the authority on your brand in the local area.</p>
<p>Of course, review sites play a big role when it comes to search. It’s important that you focus your efforts on the review sites that people can find. If they want to know what others are saying about your dealership, the most likely search terms they’ll type in will be either your name or your name plus the word “reviews”. Do those searches and see what’s on the front page of Google and Bing. Are you scoring well? Do you need to get more positive reviews to those sites?</p>
<p>Keep in mind that if a review site cannot be seen in on the front page of Google or Bing for either of those two search variations, the review site really doesn’t exist. It will be rare that a single person will ever see that 5-star rating you have on Superpages if it’s buried on page 3 on Google and Bing searches. Reviews aren’t just about what people are saying about you. They’re also about what other people can find. If a review is posted on a review site and nobody ever visits it, did that review have any affect on your business?</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>How You Appear in Other Searches</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.kpaonline.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/SEO-as-a-PR-Tool.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3858" alt="SEO as a PR Tool" src="http://www.kpaonline.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/SEO-as-a-PR-Tool.jpg" width="750"/></a></p>
<p>Earlier this year, I posted an article about how <a title="Automotive SEO has become a PR tool" href="http://www.kpaonline.com/blog/2013/01/automotive-seo-has-become-a-pr-tool/">SEO is becoming a PR tool</a>. This cannot be stressed enough. People trust that search engines are able to give them good options from which to choose. Most do not understand exactly how the search engines rank sites, but they do believe that there’s some sort of authority factor. When you’re able to rank at the top of the searches for generic terms such as the one displayed above, the person doing the search knows that it happened for a reason.</p>
<p>In the very localized market, this isn’t as much at play. If you’re the Chevrolet dealership in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, then appearing at the top for “Fond du Lac Chevrolet” isn’t going to help you from a reputation perspective. You’re the one in that city, so ranking at the top is expected. If, however, your Fond du Lac Chevrolet dealer is able to rank at the top of the searches for “Milwaukee Chevrolet Dealers” ahead of Chevrolet dealerships that are in Milwaukee, there must be a reason. It’s amazing publicity and a strong play for your dealership’s reputation when you’re able to start ranking well outside of your immediate area.</p>
<p>That doesn’t mean that a Fond du Lac dealer should start trying to rank for “Dallas Chevrolet”. It has to make sense.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>Reputation is an important defense. However, it can be used on the other side of the ball as well. Don’t just pick up a reputation management solution and call it a day. Take a long look at what your potential customers are seeing and make an effort to improve your <strong>overall</strong> reputation, not just what appears on Yelp.</p>Make the Most of Your Automotive CMS by Adding Content Regularlytag:www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com,2013-03-07:1970539:BlogPost:4585592013-03-07T12:30:00.000ZRichard Valentahttp://www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com/profile/RichardValenta566
<p><a href="http://www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com/profiles/blogs/make-the-most-of-your-automotive-cms-by-adding-content-regularly" target="_blank"><img class="align-full" src="http://www.kpaonline.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Focus-on-Content.jpg?width=750" width="750"></img></a></p>
<p>There was a promise made when the automotive industry started embracing online marketing ahead of traditional advertising, when dealerships started hiring internet managers with marketing experience or making them pure marketing managers altogether. This was the promise of the last two years and many vendors have done their…</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com/profiles/blogs/make-the-most-of-your-automotive-cms-by-adding-content-regularly"><img class="align-full" src="http://www.kpaonline.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Focus-on-Content.jpg?width=750" width="750"/></a></p>
<p>There was a promise made when the automotive industry started embracing online marketing ahead of traditional advertising, when dealerships started hiring internet managers with marketing experience or making them pure marketing managers altogether. This was the promise of the last two years and many vendors have done their part to try to give the appropriate tools to help this new generation of dealership employees.</p>
<p><span id="more-3996"></span>One of the most important things that dealership marketing employees can do to move the needle is to take advantage of their content management system (CMS). I’m not going to go too deeply into the importance of having a true CMS other than to make this one statement: if your website platform is not geared to allow you to easily create marketing pages for search and social, your competition has a huge advantage over you.</p>
<p>Assuming that you have a proper CMS and full access to it, it’s time to generate content. One of the myths that has been spread through the industry is that content should be designed for Google. That’s absolutely not true. In fact, Google uses social signals, inbound links, and engagement on the pages to help determine if a website should be ranked higher in their search results. Translation: if your content is designed for Google, it’s really <strong>not</strong> designed for Google at all.</p>
<p>Google wants content designed for people. Trust me – they can tell the difference.</p>
<p>Take advantage of your CMS regularly. The term is a very loose one – you can use it however best suits you. Regularly may be a couple of times per week or it could be a couple of times per month, but as long as you can stay consistent and make it happen on whatever regular basis fits your schedule and resources, you will have the upper hand on your competitors.</p>
<p>In future blog posts we’ll go over some content ideas that will help. It’s not just about building pages like “<a title="Milwaukee Ford Dealers" href="http://www.holidayautomotive.com/milwaukee-ford-dealers" target="_blank">Milwaukee Ford Dealers</a>” that are designed to go after specific search terms. It’s about building pages like “<a title="2014 Chevrolet SS is THE Performance Sedan" href="http://www.edbozarthparkmeadow.com/2014-chevrolet-ss-is-the-performance-sedan" target="_blank">2014 Chevrolet SS is THE Performance Sedan</a>” that are designed to be engaging and encourage interaction with the pages themselves.</p>
<p>In the meantime, try to determine how much time you can dedicate to this. It truly requires dedication. You can’t just try it and let it go. Remember, content is king.</p>Taking Advantage of Facebook as a Mobile Marketing Tooltag:www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com,2013-02-18:1970539:BlogPost:4533112013-02-18T14:00:00.000ZRichard Valentahttp://www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com/profile/RichardValenta566
<p><a href="http://www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com/profiles/blogs/taking-advantage-of-facebook-as-a-mobile-marketing-tool" target="_blank"><img class="align-full" src="http://www.kpaonline.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Dealer-Facebook-Page-Screenshot.jpg?width=750" width="750"></img></a></p>
<p>There’s one thing that permeates throughout the car industry (and most industries in general) in regards to Facebook that needs to change. We look at our dealership Facebook pages and judge much of our success based upon how we’re doing there. Normally, we check the results and monitor the pages from a desktop. This is strange since…</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com/profiles/blogs/taking-advantage-of-facebook-as-a-mobile-marketing-tool"><img class="align-full" src="http://www.kpaonline.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Dealer-Facebook-Page-Screenshot.jpg?width=750" width="750"/></a></p>
<p>There’s one thing that permeates throughout the car industry (and most industries in general) in regards to Facebook that needs to change. We look at our dealership Facebook pages and judge much of our success based upon how we’re doing there. Normally, we check the results and monitor the pages from a desktop. This is strange since most of us who use Facebook do so primarily on mobile devices.</p>
<p><span id="more-3933"></span>Why hasn’t the mobile trend of Facebook translated properly into marketing?</p>
<p>We see promoted posts, organic posts, and ads hitting our stream all the time and it seems that the majority of them are geared towards a desktop experience. This is a huge mistake. Facebook has been heading towards being a mobile company long before Mark Zuckerberg made his declaration late last year, “Today there is a no argument – Facebook is a mobile company.”</p>
<p>With that in mind, how can car dealers take advantage of the mobile aspects of Facebook and fit that into their marketing and advertising strategy?</p>
<p>The key is understanding that there are three goals which can be achieved through a single action. Kill three birds with one stone. Many in the industry are trying to bolster their SoLoMo presence; social, local, and mobile are unifying in scope and should be unified in strategy as well. Facebook is one of the keys to success.</p>
<p>Over the next two and a half months (and for the last several) we will be diving more deeply into enhancing the strategies that car dealers can use to accomplish the trifecta of SoLoMo goals that must be attained in 2013 to hit the highest level of success. In the meantime, here are some things to remember when working with your own strategies:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Check how every post appears on mobile devices.</strong> It’s always a good idea to make sure that everything looks right on your websites regardless of device or operating system. The same holds true for Facebook. An image that looks great on a 17-inch monitor might be too small to be appealing on a 7-inch handheld. Make sure that your posts, images in particular, play well with the small screen.</li>
<li><strong>Target your advertising around a mobile experience.</strong> It’s easier to understand ads meant for mobile when viewing them on desktops than viewing ads meant for desktops when viewing them on mobile. For example, you may be running a campaign for an oil change special that goes to a landing page on your website, but if the landing page doesn’t work properly on a mobile device, most of your fans will never see it properly.</li>
<li><strong>Post from your mobile device itself.</strong> There is a separate Facebook Pages Manager app that works nicely for running your pages. This can be a lifesaver if you’re also active on a personal level on Facebook. Nobody wants to post something on their business page that was meant for their personal page. More importantly, this allows the user to start thinking in terms of real-time uploads. It’s an important frame of mind to have; your Facebook pages need as much interaction from the real world as possible. Great pictures of cars and the local area that you find on the internet are fine and work well as filler content, but the real juice can be found in pictures that you’ve taken at the dealership (and no, we’re not talking about <a href="http://www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com/profiles/blogs/taking-advantage-of-facebook-as-a-mobile-marketing-tool" target="_self">pictures of happy customers</a>)</li>
<li><strong>Interact with local organizations from your mobile device.</strong> There’s nothing worse than a missed opportunity. Your dealership is not just what happens on the lot itself. Chances are you’re doing something, whether it’s sponsoring a little league team or picking up Saturday lunch for the crew at the local barbeque joint. Take advantage of these opportunities to be “out and about” with your Facebook page.</li>
</ul>
<p>In many ways, vendors (ourselves included) have done a disservice to the automotive industry by trying to fit a round peg in a square hole when it comes to Facebook. The majority of services out there are geared towards making the dealerships feel like they’re being effective on Facebook rather than actually accomplishing anything. If you’re not using mobile as the cornerstone of your through process when working with Facebook, you’re not paying attention to the primary venue through which people interact on Facebook. You can’t play the game if you’re not on the right field. Start thinking along the lines of a mobile experience and stay tuned to what we’re rolling out in the near future.</p>Automotive SEO has become a PR tooltag:www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com,2013-01-30:1970539:BlogPost:4488462013-01-30T01:30:00.000ZRichard Valentahttp://www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com/profile/RichardValenta566
<p><a href="http://www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com/profiles/blogs/automotive-seo-has-become-a-pr-tool" target="_blank"><img class="align-full" src="http://www.kpaonline.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/SEO-as-a-PR-Tool.jpg?width=750" width="750"></img></a></p>
<p>Anyone who has been involved in automotive internet marketing for a while knows that despite all of the fancy new techniques and intriguing social platforms, search engines remain the most important source of relevant traffic to your website and physical dealership. It has replaced the phone book, augmented the map, and is the place that the majority of…</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com/profiles/blogs/automotive-seo-has-become-a-pr-tool"><img class="align-full" src="http://www.kpaonline.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/SEO-as-a-PR-Tool.jpg?width=750" width="750"/></a></p>
<p>Anyone who has been involved in automotive internet marketing for a while knows that despite all of the fancy new techniques and intriguing social platforms, search engines remain the most important source of relevant traffic to your website and physical dealership. It has replaced the phone book, augmented the map, and is the place that the majority of your customers go first when in the market to buy a vehicle.</p>
<p><span id="more-3857"></span>We also know that organic search is still the dominant traffic driver, but with the rise of mobile devices and Google’s favoring of Google Local listings over organic (and in some cases, paid search), there is a lower percentage of clicks to websites from organic searches than ever before. This trend will continue, but not nearly fast enough to worry; well-optimized sites that were seeing over 80% of their traffic coming from organic search are still seeing over 75% today, so mobile is changing the game at a good pace. There may come a time when organic search is much less relevant, but that day has not come quite yet.</p>
<p>One trend that is rising quickly is the trust factor in Google’s organic listings. People understand Google and Bing much better today than they did even a year ago. They realize that the organic listings are ordered based upon importance, authority, and relevance. They are starting to trust that Google and Bing are excellent filters against the “spammy” pages out there and they believe that ranking high organically is not something that can be easily manipulated the way it used to be. Quality on the search engine results pages (SERPs) has improved dramatically over the last couple of years. Regardless of whether they know about Google’s Panda or Penguin updates isn’t important. They’ve seen the improvement and as a result they use Google and Bing to determine real relevance.</p>
<p>Take that comprehension a step further and you’ll start to see what Google and Bing have hoped for over the years and are finally achieving. They both have always viewed their organic rankings as a trust-building tool. That’s how they’re able to sell ads, by having a product that the people trust. They’ve reached that tipping point and in many ways organic search has become as much of a public relations tool as a pure traffic driver.</p>
<p>When people do searches and see an unexpected result in the organic listings, they are intrigued. We’ve seen results like the one displayed above generate the type of traffic increases that we do not normally see with “expected” high ranking results. In this case, the dealership in question that’s ranked #1 for “Milwaukee Chevrolet Dealers” is well outside of Milwaukee. There are plenty of Chevrolet dealers in Milwaukee, but the fact that Google ranks a dealership in Fond du Lac at the top is telling.</p>
<p>It’s the people’s understanding of search that is really at play here. They know that the ads are ads – pay to play, so to speak. They know that the local listings are based upon proximity to them (if on a GPS-enabled mobile device), their area (if on a WiFi connection), or the city in which they searched. They know that Google selects the “winners” based upon some authoritative algorithm that they don’t fully understand but trust based upon the hundreds or thousands of other searches they’ve done over the years.</p>
<blockquote><p><strong>Consumers widely consider a search engines top ranked results to be the most relevant and authoritative pages on the web. ~ <a href="http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2013/01/11/attention-seos-amp-ceos-seo-grew-up.aspx" target="_blank">Website Magazine</a></strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ranking high on search engines is no longer just about getting traffic. It’s a true PR play, now.</p>
<p>There are all sorts of opinions and strategies that have been pulling away from SEO over the last year. Many have said that SEO is dead. Others say that it can no longer be done. The truth is that SEO is extremely alive, growing in prominence, and more challenging than ever. The last part is a good thing. As companies start falling off the SEO bandwagon due to failures to adapt to the changes, strong SEO strategies are emerging that can make a greater impact than ever before for savvy and discerning dealers. Those who want to truly succeed are embracing SEO for the traffic as well as the PR. Don’t get me started on the reputation management aspects of SEO. That’s for another article.</p>5 Things to Look for when Hiring an SEO Companytag:www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com,2013-01-13:1970539:BlogPost:4440222013-01-13T02:00:00.000ZRichard Valentahttp://www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com/profile/RichardValenta566
<p><a href="http://www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com/profiles/blogs/5-things-to-look-for-when-hiring-an-seo-company"><img alt="SEO" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-777" src="http://www.topdealerseo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/SEO.jpg" title="SEO" width="750"></img></a></p>
<p>Search engine optimization in the automotive industry isn’t hard, which is why it surprises me how often companies choose to use shortcuts rather than to apply proven and acceptable white-hat techniques. It’s a problem that has been on the rise more in the last year than ever before. The reason for it is simple: true search engine optimization requires…</p>
<p><a href="http://www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com/profiles/blogs/5-things-to-look-for-when-hiring-an-seo-company"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-777" title="SEO" src="http://www.topdealerseo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/SEO.jpg" alt="SEO" width="750"/></a></p>
<p>Search engine optimization in the automotive industry isn’t hard, which is why it surprises me how often companies choose to use shortcuts rather than to apply proven and acceptable white-hat techniques. It’s a problem that has been on the rise more in the last year than ever before. The reason for it is simple: true search engine optimization requires manual effort.</p>
<p><span id="more-776"></span>Large vendors prefer to avoid this because they feel it isn’t scalable. Smaller vendors scramble to assemble the manpower necessary to make it happen. It doesn’t have to be this way. It’s possible to perform search engine optimization at a scalable level that delivers real results for dealers. Identifying those who can bring you the results is as easy as answering five questions.</p>
<p>Before we get into the questions, it’s important to note one important omission from the list. You’ll notice that I did not include, “Do they have examples of dealers ranking well for challenging keywords?” If a vendor has more than a handful of clients, they will have examples of strong rankings. It’s inevitable. There are too many poorly optimized websites out there. A list of examples of clients who rank well is something that every vendor can provide. We’ve even seen occasions where websites that we have optimized on other website platforms are used as examples by that website provider.</p>
<p>Here are the questions that can truly help you make an educated decision.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Is Their Solution Centered Around Unique Content?</h2>
<p>The Google Panda update of 2011 specifically attacked websites with duplicate and/or low-quality content. The automotive industry was not terribly harmed by this as most dealers have variations of “spun” content on their sites. Relative to other websites in the same realm, most dealerships are equally harmed by the lack of truly unique content, which means that the bar is set low to achieve higher rankings.</p>
<p>Vendors that do the same thing may not be hurt by this type of content, but they certainly aren’t helping. Building unique content pages on a monthly basis is a differentiator that only a handful of vendors utilize. Look at examples of their website SEO. Copy the first or second paragraph of the HTML content on the page. Paste that into Google and search. If you see a lot of websites that have the same basic content but with small changes such as the dealership name and city, you’ll know that their content is not unique enough to be a differentiator.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Do They Automate the SEO Process?</h2>
<p>All of the old tricks of the trade are dead. Google and Bing have more brainpower behind fighting blackhat SEO than all of the blackhats combined. One of the worst potential offenses that both Google and Bing despise is automated SEO content.</p>
<p>There is no system today in or out of the automotive industry that can fool the search engines by generating pages based on actions from a feed. In other words, if a vendor is automating page creation by “spinning” content with different cities or models, they are going to be hurt by this practice. Some dealers have learned this lesson the hard way. This type of blackhat SEO isn’t just ineffective – it’s potentially dangerous.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Does Their Keyword Strategy Meet Your Individual Needs?</h2>
<p>The most powerful SEO in the universe is worthless if the proper keywords are not targeted. The foundation of any strong SEO service is keyword selection and maintenance. It’s not just about picking out the right keywords in the beginning. It’s about enhancing the keyword selections based upon needs, changes in the industry, and expansion of the keyword reach.</p>
<p>Ask potential vendors to send you their onboarding or launch questions. This document should ask you what cities, new vehicle models, and used vehicle makes are most important to your dealership. There’s no way to put together a proper keyword strategy without having an understanding of the individual dealership’s competitive landscape. Only the dealer knows this information. Any vendor can make an educated guess, but you know your competition and opportunities better than anyone.</p>
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<h2>Do They Employ Inbound Link Strategies to Enhance Rankings?</h2>
<p>Links are not dead. Automated and low-quality links are dead. That happened last April with the Penguin update when some dealers saw their rankings drop quickly.</p>
<p>Google and Bing both still give a lot of weight to inbound links. The difference now is that quality greatly trumps quantity. In fact, Google is making it detrimental to have low-quality links pointing to you. Employing a content-centric link-building system is the best way to make a positive impact on your search rankings. Without links, content alone does not have the power necessary to achieve the more challenging “money keywords” that are based on your make and/or model and city. You won’t be able to rank at the top for terms like “Milwaukee Chevrolet Dealers” with content alone.</p>
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<h2>Do They Rank Well With Their Own Sites?</h2>
<p>A great chef cooks well at home as well as at the restaurant. It’s a shame that so many claim to have the best automotive SEO available without having the ability to get their own sites ranked for terms like “automotive SEO”. How does that make any sense?</p>
<p>Do some searches pertaining to keywords the prospective vendor would hold important. If they are truly good at SEO, they will certainly apply their techniques on their own websites. If they can’t get their own websites ranked well, how are they supposed to help their clients reach the top. After all, “automotive SEO” is a much more challenging keyword than “Milwaukee Chevrolet Dealers”.</p>
<p>Again, automotive SEO isn’t hard. It requires effort, proper strategies, and the ability to keep up with the rapid changes that are happening at Google and Bing. If you aren’t completely satisfied with your rankings, it’s time to find other options. Once you have those options gathered, ask these five questions. The answers will help you determine whether they’ll be able to get you higher rankings or if they’ll have your rankings tanking.</p>With Competition on Search Heating Up, Don't Overlook Yahoo and Bingtag:www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com,2010-07-23:1970539:BlogPost:2115242010-07-23T16:30:00.000ZRichard Valentahttp://www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com/profile/RichardValenta566
<p>Many dealers continue to put all their focus on Google and rightfully so. However, if you haven't been paying attention, <a href="http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2010/7/comScore_Releases_June_2010_U.S._Search_Engine_Rankings">Yahoo and Bing</a> have been gaining in search volume. While individually, they don't even come close to Google's stranglehold on the market, together they still represent 31% and I would consider this a very sizable chunk. Who wouldn't want to get…</p>
<p>Many dealers continue to put all their focus on Google and rightfully so. However, if you haven't been paying attention, <a href="http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2010/7/comScore_Releases_June_2010_U.S._Search_Engine_Rankings">Yahoo and Bing</a> have been gaining in search volume. While individually, they don't even come close to Google's stranglehold on the market, together they still represent 31% and I would consider this a very sizable chunk. Who wouldn't want to get their products in front of 31% more people?</p>
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<p>The main point I am trying to make is there is alot of business to be had if you have strategies focused on all three major search engines. All three produce different results and just because you rank well in Google doesn't mean you are doing well in the others. Pay attention to Yahoo and Bing and you just might sell more cars, write more repair orders and move more parts.</p>
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<p>If you are using an outside <a href="http://www.topdealerseo.com/">Automotive SEO</a> company or are relying on your website vendor, start asking questions. Make sure they have a strategy in place and are looking for all of the opportunities out there. Don't let them discount Yahoo and Bing.</p>